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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1999)
TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS Majestic Mortgage Funds First Home Loan Using Siletz Down Payment Grant By Darren Balogh, Senior Loan Officer Majestic Mortgage, a Portland- area firm specializing in creative lending, has positioned itself as a resource for the Siletz Indian Housing Authority (SIHA). Led by Liz Hamilton, herself a Native American, and Darren Balogh, a specialist in creative financing, Majestic Mortgage focuses on working with the first-time homebuyer assistance program offered to tribal members under HUD’s Indian Housing Block Grant Program. This program is managed under the expert guidance of David Litchy, housing finance specialist, and Bunni Snook, administrative assistant, at the Housing Authority office in Salem. Purchases: While many lenders struggle with how to structure the NAHASDA grant money toward down payments, Majestic Mortgage has adapted program guidelines to fund quickly and efficiently. Our most recent success story was a family of five in St. Helens, Ore., where the builder’s own in house financing collapsed. Majestic funded the loan in June in only three weeks, from application to move-in date. Refinances: Whether your credit is A+ or there have been credit challenges such as bankruptcy, Majestic Mortgage can refinance the existing loan and pull cash out for a number of uses, such as debt consolidation, home improvements, vacation, or working capital for a business. Properties can either be owner-occupied or non-owner- occupied investment properties. If you are self-employed, we can fund a type of loan where no income disclosure is required. Section 184 Indian Housing: This Loan Guarantee Program is intended to increase the availability of mortgage capital on Indian reservations, and is restricted to Native American borrowers. Getting started is easy! You can contact Liz, collect, at 503-397-9769 or by pager at 503-955-0772. You may contact Darren toll-free at 1 -800-579-8222, ext. 581, or visit his web site at www.MortgageLoansNW.com. Construction Set to Begin on New Houses by Connie Hoffman, SIHA Director By the time that you read this, we hope to have broken ground for the homes being built on the western edge of Siletz. We opened bids from four contractors (two Indian-owned firms and two non-lndian firms) in July. The low bidders were Tomco Construction Inc., an Indian-owned firm from Spokane, Wash., for the site work, and Modern Building Systems Inc., a modular home company from the Salem area. These companies will receive the contracts when the fee-to-trust process for the site is completed, which was expected before the end of August. Tomco’s bid was $820,000 for the site work and landscaping and Modern Building Systems’ bid was $1,530,470 for the homes. This will enable us to construct 20 homes with the HUD grants that we received in 1996 and 1997. The project was put out to bid with the option of bidding for modular or site- built construction. The difference between the bid from Modern Building Systems and the lowest bid for site-built homes was $450,000, which amounts to four or five homes. Housing commissioners and staff toured Modern Building Systems’ plant in Aumsville and were impressed with the company’s operation. All of its work meets or exceeds the Uniform Building Code and we will build our homes to the same plans and specifications that we had for the site- built homes. They will be finished products when they are trucked to the site in two pieces and placed on Most pre-qualifications are done in 24 hours and there is no charge for the initial call. Majestic Mortgage is an Equal Opportunity lender and can originate home loans in any state where licensing laws allow. Siletz tribal members are not required to use Majestic Mortgage exclusively and may contact SIHA for options. Contact Dave Litchy or Bunni Snook at the SIHA Finance Program Office for specific program information: 1-888-870-9051 or 503-304-4064; FAX 503-304-4065; P.O. Box21773, Keizer, OR 97307. foundations that also will be constructed by Modern Building Systems’ crews. The quality of these homes will be considerably higher than HUD’s standards for manufactured homes. This project will take about a year to complete. We will keep you posted on its progress. The Housing Authority office expansion began in August. Willow Creek Construction of Toledo is the contractor. Willow Creek has successfully completed remodeling projects at the Siletz Clinic and the STEDCO building. The project includes constructing a separate building for our maintenance department, expanding the meeting room, and remodeling the interior of the main building to provide more office space. As our programs grow, it has been necessary to add more staff. The Housing Board recently adopted a policy to provide funding to handicapped/disabled tribal members who have accessibility needs. The board has expanded this policy to meet housing-related safety and health needs of tribal elders. As with all of our HUD-funded housing programs, eligibility is based on household income and funding is aimed primarily at those whose household income is at or below 80 percent of median income. A limited amount of funding may be used to help those who are between 80 and 100 percent of median income. This program is available to both homeowners and renters. Homeowners may be helped either inside or outside the 11 -county service area. Renters may be helped only within the 11-county service area. For more information and to request an application form, contact the Housing Authority office in either Siletz or Salem. -9-
